Comment on My writing laptop just died

• Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  There’s a non-zero chance the license is stored on the motherboard of the laptop (ie, embedded in BIOS).

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  • Nollij@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    It’s nearly certain. OEM activation has been stored on the motherboard since XP. XP-7 required a matching OEM cert (easily found online), while 8+ have a unique license in the BIOS. For these, you just reinstall the OS, skip the key during setup, and let it connect afterwards for all of the updates and whatnot.

    Now, licenses to other apps, such as Word, are not so simple.

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• Skunk@tarte.nuage-libre.fr ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Powershell

  irm https://get.activated.win | iex

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• Bongles@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  That should be fine. I haven’t had to do it but everywhere I’ve seen says it’s tied to your hardware and it should be fine when you reinstall windows. Though with a dead laptop I’m not sure if you’re able to get a USB with the bootable media.

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• brucethemoose@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Windows should remember the BIOS and activate fine, I think.

  You can get the install medium on a USB stick from Microsoft for free.

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• Strider@thelemmy.club ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  There’s probably a sticker with the license code on the laptop somewhere.

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